India starts repatriating first group of Myanmar refugees who escaped 2021 coup

Indian authorities on Friday began deporting the first group of Myanmar refugees who sought shelter there after a military coup in 2021 and plans to send back more in the coming days, Reuters reported.

The decision came weeks after the government said it would end a visa-free border policy with Myanmar, the agency added, citing documents

Thousands of civilians and hundreds of troops from Myanmar have fled to Indian states, where communities between the two countries share ethnic and familial ties, which has worried New Delhi because of the risk of communal tensions spreading to India.

The border state of Manipur has been disturbed by sporadic violence that has killed nearly 200 people so far since ethnic clashes broke out in May last year.